Points North
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Points North is a show about the land, water, and inhabitants of the upper Great Lakes. Examine what draws people to northern Michigan the beaches, orchards, dunes, and forests, and the deeper stories behind those settings. Tune in Fridays on IPR News Radio, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Points North
1w ago
A researcher in Ohio was surrounded by hundreds of dead ash trees. They had been wiped out by this beetle called the emerald ash borer. But then, in that same forest, she found a lone tree thriving. Could this tree be the key to saving ash from extinction ..read more
Points North
3w ago
For more than 20 years, Nic Theisen has spent his days on his hands and knees in the dirt farming. It’s a tough way to make a living, and for years Nic didn’t always know if the farm would make it. Until something big changed ..read more
Points North
3w ago
A team of archaeologists looks for signs of prehistoric life 100 feet underwater in Lake Huron. But they need help narrowing their search. So, they turn to artificial intelligence ..read more
Points North
3w ago
Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus – a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost ..read more
Points North
1M ago
Peter Quakenbush’s dream is to create a conservation burial forest – a place that would both preserve the woods and give people the option to be buried in nature. But not everyone is on board with that idea ..read more
Points North
1M ago
Lake trout are on life support in Lake Michigan. Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends tens of millions of dollars raising and stocking them. But what if there was another way: genetic engineering. Could it be used for conservation ..read more
Points North
2M ago
Two guys are hunting coyotes in Michigan. All of a sudden, they say they lure in the biggest coyote they’ve ever seen and kill it. But, it turns out, it’s not a coyote at all; it’s a federally endangered gray wolf about 300 miles from its normal habitat. So, how did the wolf get there? And did the hunters play any role in it ..read more
Points North
2M ago
There’s this biker in the Upper Peninsula. Seems like everybody knows him or knows of him. He competes in some of the most challenging mountain bike races, but he doesn’t even ride a mountain bike. He competes on a single-speed BMX bike. Why does he do it ..read more
Points North
3M ago
We think of the Great Lakes as shark-free, but as legend has it, a young boy named George Lawson was attacked by a shark while swimming in Lake Michigan near Chicago in 1955. Is this story true or just a bunch of bull shark ..read more
Points North
3M ago
Copper is a key metal for renewable energy, and experts say we’re going to need a lot more of it to transition to clean energy. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is Copper Country. Some see copper mining as an economic boon for the region, but others worry it could come at the cost of some of the Great Lakes’ most pristine wild spaces ..read more